Barbarian

Chapter XXIV

By the time Bùrnibh comes into sight, we are all exhausted. The sun is setting and the silence that has gripped our group for the past half-day is heavy. Dalla struggles to keep up, Lachlann is silent, nestled in my arms, and Garrick keeps leading the way.

The druid, who awoke only a couple hours after our mid-day rest, stays close behind Garrick. His eyes darting everywhere as if expecting Roman soldiers to suddenly jump out of the bush. Relatively unharmed other than a nasty bump on the head and a cut along his forearm, he nevertheless demanded to be carried the rest of the way. Garrick and Brogan both laughed and the druid has held a scowl ever since. Even the sight of Bùrnibh does nothing to lift his sour mood. 

Bùrnibh is about the size of our home village; around two-dozen huts crowded together. However, unlike the Three River Clan village, Bùrnibh is built on a swamp at the bottom of a valley. The mountains cast shadows over the small village and the sun seems to almost dim the closer we get. Not too far away, around half-way up one of the mountains, is a small roman camp. The men crowd around campfires, bowls of stew in their hands and their raucous laughter echoing throughout the valley... none of them seem on edge. The messenger must not have arrived yet.  

Only a few villagers are out and none of them acknowledge our arrival. The huts are all built on wooden boardwalks built up and off the bog. They stand in a circle formation, all of them pointing to the largest hut of all: the meeting house.

A villager spots us and with a squeak quickly disappears into a hut. 

“I’m not so sure about this...” Ailis says. 

“We don’t have another option,” Garrick answers. “Brogan, can you take the Ailis and Dalla to get some supplies? Here, use this.” He takes off a necklace from around his neck. It is a simple chain, but the pendent is a small gemstone. “It should fetch for a good price.”

“Take this as well.” I take off the small silver and turquoise ring off my finger. Garrick opens his mouth but with a defeated look, stays quiet. 

I hand Brogan the ring. “It should be more than enough to buy the supplies.”

Brogan takes the jewelry and clenches it protectively in his fist. “I’ll ask about mounts as well.”

“What will I do?” The druids high, squeaky voice asks. 

“You’ll be coming with us,” Garrick says nodding to me. “We’ve got something for you to do.”

“And what is that?” The druid crosses his arms and purses his lips.

Garrick takes a step towards the little man and glares down at him. “You’ll know when I choose to tell you,” he says. 

The druid almost shrinks beneath the glower.

“We’ll meet back in the forest when the sun has gone over the horizon,” Brogan says. “The bushes to the North will give us enough cover.” 

I quickly hand Lachlann over to Ailis and with that, she, Dalla, and Brogan walk away towards the first home.